When a new change is being tested (to see if it's actually an improvement), we sometimes don't know if something is better right away. Sometimes the first time you try something new, it's more awkward and maybe seems worse than the old way of doing something.

There's an art in knowing when to “give up” and go back to try something different (in the Study and Adjust phases of PDSA) or when to keep trying because you're just not giving the new way a fair chance yet.

It's not a hard set rule, but “seven days' grace” can be a helpful approach. You're asking people to give the new way a legitimate try AND you're leaving open the possibility of changing back to the old way (or trying something new… Study and Adjust).

What do you think of this approach? Please scroll down and leave a comment. There's also a transcript of the video down below.

It's really awesome to see this culture of continuous improvement in place. Don't you wish you could see this too? Oh, now you can!

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Video Transcript:

Rhonda: That was my reaction to all of the people. We drastically changed how the drugs were stored in this area. A team of six or seven individuals work very hard to implement this. We considered many, many things.

We considered how it affected their shift. We looked at how quickly we could replenish our surgery trays doing it this way versus the other way. I felt like we had spent a lot of time identifying the problem, thinking through resolutions.

Then the next shift came in and didn't like how the drugs were stored and immediately red flags and a lot of complaining.

I said, “Listen, this team has put together a lot of thought into this process. We owe them seven days grace, and to try this, to give it a good try and not come in and complain.”

I think we only had to invoke that a few times. Now, people know the culture is, “We've got to give it a try.” They're very open now.

Before, it was very rigid and people didn't like new things. I think as Kaizen…A lot of people don't like change. Healthcare has changed so they've gotten used to it a little bit better.

But Kaizen has changed and that's constant change. They're getting used to Kaizens coming through.

[…] should be able to determine if it’s working better than the old way (including giving “seven days’ grace” as I recently blogged about). Sometimes, the manager might have to make a decision about what’s best, but doing so after […]